Whether you’re in the market for a new sofa with a story to tell or want a winter-friendly activity to fill your day, seek out some of Auckland’s best second-hand and vintage furniture stores – filled with all sorts of pieces with a past life. They say one person’s trash is another’s treasure, but the pieces at many of these shops have been treasure all along.

Babelogue
Babelogue has moved a few times since opening in 2017, but is currently sold online and on Instagram only after previously being housed in what founder Charlotte Rust called her “shoppable apartment”. While you can no longer browse in person, you’ll still find vintage furniture by sought-after and collectable designers, such Mario Bellini lighting and Ligne Roset velvet armchairs, as well as decor objects, books and new, locally made items that have included candelabras by Ghastly Studios in the past. As former owner of well-known vintage clothing store Fast and Loose, Rust has an experienced eye for style, plus she worked in the film and television industry in costume design, props buying and set dressing. 14 East Street, Auckland CBD.

Vitrine Antique Store
Vitrine – also a word used to describe a showcase cabinet – started in 2010. The roughly 700-square-metre Morningside warehouse stocks vintage and antique furniture, lighting and decorative pieces – mostly European-sourced, spanning many eras. You might find a pair of seagrass armchairs or French dining tables and consoles, Brutalist chairs and stools, or intricate glass pendants and sconces. Pieces are often stacked on top of each other after a new container arrives, while the workshop in Kingsland is making its way through restoring each one. No two shipments are the same – each is driven solely by what owners Amanda and Julien Thery gravitate towards while on their buying trips. They do a few a year, most often to France (Julien’s homeland). 5 McDonald Street, Morningside.

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Mr Bigglesworthy
Curated by Emma and Dan Eagle, Mr Bigglesworthy has made its name by stocking premium mid-century pieces and contemporary design classics since 2011. You’ll find the likes of iconic designer Hans Wegner, the fried egg chair from Warm Nordic and Stephane Rondel’s woven cane peanut chair. Other unique pieces include bar carts, daybeds, nesting tables and desks. When needed, they restore pieces in-house at their workshop, making sure to honour the original patina and finishes. Alongside sourcing pieces from the UK and Denmark, they are also known for finding New Zealand-designed pieces made by names like Garth Chester as well as Tibor Donner, who designed a chair for the Auckland City Council office in 1949 and caused a stir for its unusual design. 15 Williamson Avenue, Ponsonby.

Flotsam and Jetsam
This two-storey Ponsonby Road shop is packed with a wide range of kitsch pieces (and is just a few doors down from perfumery Curionoir. Embrace the surprise of what you might find among owner Cameron Woodcock’s eclectic collections, rather than visiting for something in particular. You’ll browse Kiwi paraphernalia, weathered enamel candle holders, iconic Crown Lynn sets of cups and saucers, wicker baskets and ex-army storage boxes. 84 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby.

Mid Century Swag
Lacquered nightstands, round Italian marble dining tables and whimsical Curtis Jeré wall sculptures are some of what you might find at Mid Century Swag. Owner Jodi Newnham – who is also an artist and interior designer – sources pieces predominantly from America from the ’60s to the ’80s, and has even sourced pieces from a Chicago mafia mobster’s condo. Newnham’s own home is a picture-perfect representation of incorporating old and new in a curated way. Mid Century Swag is currently between stores, but is available online.

Junk & Disorderly
Open all week, Junk & Disorderly is like a flea market – but indoors. It has a vast array of bric-a-brac, furniture and everything in between from across the eras. It also sells new, rustically crafted homeware pieces like eco kitchenware and art prints. Find retro chair sets among worn bowling pins, tasselled lamp shades, defunct store signs, boxes of stamps, and mannequins. Avid collectors themselves, Richard and Nicole Stewart started Junk & Disorderly in 1991. It’s a treasure trove of organised chaos that may just entice you to start a collection of your own. 164 Balmoral Road, Mount Eden.

Antique Alley
What won’t you find here? Antique Alley is full to the brim with silverware and crystal, jewellery, furniture, figurines, children’s toys, royal memorabilia, and a large collection of ornate crockery. The store was started by ex-banker David Brettell in 1971, and now his son Gareth and Gareth’s wife Tarin have been carrying on his legacy for over a decade. They source much of their stock from deceased estates but also direct from the public, should you have no sentimental attachment to Grandma’s good tea set and wonder how much it might fetch. 240 Dominion Road, Mount Eden.

Mr Homebody
Ron Goh’s apartment in Freemans Bay acts as the backdrop to the vintage and second-hand pieces he has been selling online and on Instagram since 2020. A digital designer by day, Goh has Mr Homebody as a side hustle, wading through op shops, Facebook Marketplace and Trade Me so you don’t have to. He hunts for pieces like jute chairs, glass nesting tables, fossil stone consoles, and pleated shades on ceramic lamps – and his scrollable collections will appeal to those who aren’t keen on the effort of sniffing out gems in physical stores.

This article has been updated to mark the fact that Babelogue is now only sold online and on Instagram.